Death on a Factory Farm

There's a struggle being waged in the U.S. today - over how we treat the animals that end up on our dinner plates. More than ten billion animals are raised for consumption in the U.S. every year, most on industrialized "factory farms." Virtually no federal laws mandate the humane treatment of farm animals. Because most state laws are weak and/or rarely enforced, animal - rights groups have turned to undercover investigators to help expose abuse on factory farms. This is the story of one such investigator's disturbing descent into a factory farm. Following the success of the 2006 documentary Dealing Dogs, directors Tom Simon and Sarah Teale return to HBO to tell the story of an animal - rights investigator, "Pete," who goes undercover on a factory hog farm to explore a whistle blower's allegations.

Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Tom Simon teams with co-director Sarah Teale to investigate alleged wrongdoings at a Creston, Ohio hog farm in this documentary questioning the humane treatment of animals bred for consumption. When an employee of the Wiles Hog Farm filed a complaint about reprehensible treatment of animals at the business, The Humane Farming Association (HFA) quickly launched an undercover investigation. Later, an investigator posing as an employee managed to sneak a camera into the facility. The images he captured will not only turn the stomach of any animal love, but also make you think twice about where your latest meal came from. In addition to revealing video evidence of the unspeakable atrocities committed at the farm, Simon and Teale also allow a firsthand look at the subsequent trial, in which the owner, his son, and a ranch hand were charged with 10 counts of animal cruelty for - among other things - hanging a sow from a forklift to euthanize it.